Synthetic ropes and other cordage products are used in many industries for a variety of applications. For example, the maritime industry may use cordage products in mooring operations to secure a ship to a pier, whereas the construction industry may use cordage products with cranes to lift and transport heavy items. In each of these various applications, a load is applied to a cordage product that results in forces being exerted on the cordage product. How the cordage product reacts to those forces depends on tensile properties of the cordage product.
Prior to being placed in-service, a cordage product may conform to an initial load-elongation curve that characterizes various tensile properties of the cordage product. Examples of such tensile properties include modulus of elasticity, elastic limit, elongation, proportional limit, cross-sectional area reduction, tensile strength, yield point, yield strength, and the like. The initial load-elongation curve may provide a baseline indication of how the cordage product will react to an applied load.
However, when placed in-service, the cordage product is subjected to various loading and service conditions that change one or more aspects of the initial load-elongation curve. These loading and service conditions represent varying levels and/or modes of stress exerted on the cordage product, which degrade the cordage product's tensile properties over time. Such degradation is indicative of the cordage product's physical condition deteriorating, which renders the cordage product more susceptible to failure.
Several factors may contribute to this deterioration of the synthetic rope's physical condition. Examples of such factors include abrasion, cutting, fatigue, shock loading, twist buildup, environmental exposure, and the like. While some factors may be observed through tactile or visual inspection, the ultimate impact of the factors to the cordage product's physical condition is difficult to ascertain. Systems and methods for non-destructively evaluating a cordage product in-service over time are needed.